


in another life

by sunnysidechen



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnysidechen/pseuds/sunnysidechen
Summary: prompt: kyungsoo is a prince that is supposed to inherent the throne but really, they'd rather own a tiny bakery with jongdae.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Comments: 14
Kudos: 39





	in another life

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be part of the drabble thread i have on my twt but i rlly liked this prompt so i'm making it to a one-shot au here! i'm not sure how to attach pictures here (since i screenshotted it) but i got this prompt from[here!](https://prompts.neocities.org/)  
> posting this as a gift for all the soons/exols who worked hard to vote for jongdae on fan+! we may not have won 1st place, but second is as amazing as well! thank you so much!
> 
> enjoy!
> 
> disclaimer: i'm not rlly sure how royal traditions/addressing the royal family works other than what i've researched online; so please correct me if i'm wrong!

kyungsoo walks along the streets, greeting and bowing to all the people who came out to greet him. he only has one destination in mind: kim’s bakery. he respectfully rejects everyone else’s invitations to come into their houses or shops, they needed to be vetted before any of the royal family visited it anyway. the kim’s bakery has long been on the royals’ list and that is why, when kyungsoo steps in, his table and the pastries he usually orders were already there for him.

kyungsoo is a regular; he comes by every monday, thursday and saturday at exactly 10:13am for brunch, and also for a little date with one of the kim’s bakery’s owner’s sons (wow, that’s a mouthful). jongdae steps out in all his glory - his signature white button down and (usually dirty) black apron - and bows slightly, “good morning, your highness.”

“good morning, jongdae. and i told you to call me by my name, you’re my hyung anyway.”

the older chuckles, “i still need to respect the prince. don’t want to be beheaded or something.” he joins the other by sitting across from him.

kyungsoo had seen jongdae when he was there to rearrange the pastries during one of the palace’s public celebrations. while people would usually be flustered or ‘sucking up’ to the prince, jongdae was very calm and collected, almost like kyungsoo was just another person, and the latter had become drawn to him the entire night, even if jongdae needed to work.

he finds out that the pastries were from kim’s bakery, and asked his valet to do a quick check because he had wanted to pay a personal visit. jongdae was there to serve him, again, acting like kyungsoo was a normal person - not a prince, not royalty. it was a very pleasant feeling, and kyungsoo finds himself visiting almost every week, until he turns up thrice a week just to see jongdae’s face. he did have his own special area/room, but it was still part of the cafe when he does not visit.

when news broke about his little visits, the royal palace had excused his visits as one of the prince’s outings to bring back some pastries for his family, like a little day's errand. one day, jongdae did ask why he came personally, rather than send someone, and kyungsoo shyly admitted that he really only came to see jongdae, and throwing caution to the wind, asks him out on a date.

well, so far their dates have only been an hour long ‘sessions’ at the cafe, but kyungsoo takes what he can get. his parents did ask him what he had up his sleeves, but he had just said he was exploring things with the other, and they were fine with it.

now it’s been 5 months since they started dating, and kyungsoo has never been happier. unfortunately, his father had just told him the night before that he was slowly stepping down, and that kyungsoo’s coronation day would be coming up sooner than expected. honestly, all kyungsoo wanted to do is be with jongdae for the rest of his life, but duty calls, and he is the only son to the king.

“i... i’m becoming the king soon,” kyungsoo starts, fiddling with his fingers.

“that’s great, soo!” jongdae held the other’s hands and rubs them, “but what’s wrong? you look nervous. i mean, i’d understand you’d be, although we all know you’re going to be an amazing king. but… i have a feeling you’re nervous about something else.”

of course he’s right, jongdae scarily knows him a lot more than he knows about himself (he finds that out only on their 3rd date) and he proposes, “dad says i have to marry someone… they’re giving me some freedom to choose… and i… i want it to be you?” kyungsoo realises what he had said suddenly and stood up straight, “only if you want to!!”

jongdae cutely giggles, “is that it? hmm…” he ponders, “i think you need to court me properly.” he settled back into the seat, “then maybe i’ll say yes.”

“maybe?” kyungsoo choked, paling up. 

“maybe…” jongdae mischievously smiles and continues, “my brothers are very traditional, you know?” jongdae’s parents have already passed, and he and his brothers continued on their parents’ legacy.

“oh... um… okay… i’ll ask my parents to come over and ask for their blessings… and the whole,” kyungsoo waves his hands around, “shebang i guess.” this time jongdae laughs out loud, and says, “just go up to them and ask now. oh, i want an entire proposal while you’re at it too.”

“huh?”

“if your parents aren’t really needed, just ask them yourself. i think junmyeon is free right now.” 

“you want me… to ask right now?” kyungsoo started becoming a little more anxious; it was nerve-wrecking enough to propose to jongdae, now he has to ask his brothers too? he understands of course, it was only right, but he didn’t expect to do this so soon.

“yeah, right now. where’s the ring?”

“ring?”

“soo... you don’t have a ring…?”

“i... um, i wanted to ask for your opinion first, in case you know… you didn’t want to marry me so i didn’t really get a ring?” kyungsoo feels his hopes dash a little by the minute. 

“oh,” jongdae pouts, before standing up.

“dae, wait -”

“relax, i’m just bringing you to junmyeon. you can propose some other time. come on!” he pulls kyungsoo with him and drags him to the back, the prince needing to tell his guards to stand down.

“you... want to marry my sorry of an excuse of a brother?”

“hey!” 

minseok and junmyeon look at kyungsoo, assessing him, before the latter shrugs, “sure, why not?”

“that’s it?” kyungsoo blurts out.

“yeah, i mean… you have a clean record anyway, right? being the prince and all? take jongdae away from us!”

“hey! i would still want to work here.”

“can you? being the future king’s husband and all…” minseok asks.

“wait, i can’t?” jongdae panics and looks at kyungsoo, “i can’t?”

“we can… work around it? i don’t think you can but i can talk to my parents about it?” kyungsoo tries to compromise, not wanting jongdae to reject him whatsoever.

“why don’t you talk to the king and queen first? then we can talk about this again,” junmyeon suggests, and the prince nodded.

“you can visit your brothers whenever, but you cannot work there. you would be part of the royal family now, your finances would be managed,” the queen explains.

“i know… but it’s still a family business, and in a way…” jongdae nervously tries to explain his side, “it makes me feel closer to my parents? i won’t be taking any pay.” the king and queen looked at each other, discussing with their eyes, before the king nods, “okay, you can work, but on days where we have any events or you have to tend to kyungsoo, you wouldn’t be allowed to work, visiting is alright. are we in agreement?”

at that, jongdae’s eyes brightens.

* * *

the wedding came by 2 months after; yes, kyungsoo did propose to jongdae, with a beautiful ring, in the palace’s gardens during one of jongdae’s visits. he had to take extra royal classes, from etiquette to history lessons, and also to prepare for the wedding. it went by very fast, and before they knew it, they said their ‘i do's' and kissed in front of the whole town to see.

kyungsoo’s coronation came two weeks after, and while jongdae feels overwhelmed (as he should), he was also praised as being an amazing and poised partner for kyungsoo.

he does go back when he can and help out lightly at the bakery, but it was weird when his customers, especially the regulars now have to bow and call him ‘your highness’. he would have preferred it not to happen, but he had his own personal guards now, so he couldn’t risk it.

thankfully, like their relationship before they got married, they are very comfortable with each other. their personalities are similar after all, and they understood each other well enough. their ‘i love you’s came by as naturally too, on their second night together as a married couple. jongdae does miss having a simpler life; bickering with his brothers everyday and serving customers. royal life is indeed on the more mundane side, but kyungsoo makes it all better.

“i didn’t know you baked,” jongdae states as he walks into the kitchen. he had looked for the now-king everywhere and was told he was in the kitchen.

“mom wanted some croissants, so i’m making all of us some. i love to bake when i have time.”

“why did you come to our bakery so often then?” jongdae asks as he pops a piece of grape into his mouth.

“to see the love of my life, of course.”

“sap.” 

“oh. oh not you, baby,” kyungsoo smiles, “i was talking about your soft cream cheese bun. heavenly, i tried to recreate once, i failed.”

jongdae gasps and throws a grape towards the other, “you’re an asshole.”

kyungsoo just shrugs and eats the grape off the counter. jongdae gets to try the croissant a while after, and he moans, “wow, this is amazing. almost as amazing as my parents’.”

kyungsoo chuckles, blushing a little, “thank you, that’s a very big compliment. i would’ve loved to meet your parents.”

“they would love you,” jongdae nods, “and also chase me out of the house so we can get married.”

“i would thank them for that,” kyungsoo plates the croissants nicely so he could pass it to his mother. “maybe in another life, we can open up a bakery on our own. at a corner of a street in a small, countryside town.”

“i would love that.” jongdae jumps out of his chair and kisses the other, “definitely in another life.”

**Author's Note:**

> kudos, comments or [ccs](https://curiouscat.me/sunnysidechen) are welcome! you can talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/sunnysidechen) too!


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